A Hairless Bear: Turns Out Bald Bears Are Anything But Cute

The well-known public speaking trick advises those with stage fright to imagine every member of their audience naked. Apparently, it helps to calm your nerves. While I can’t speak first hand about that particular method, I do know one thing: While humans and other animals mostly look silly when naked, bears, apparently, just get terrifying.

If you’re not sure whether to believe me, that’s fine. Simply keep scrolling below and see for yourself.

Dolores The Hairless Spectacled Bear

A female Spectacled Bear named Dolores at Germany’s Leipzig Zoo has been going bald—baffling vets and experts.

This is how Dolores would have looked before she lost her fur. Spectacled bears normally have a thick, dark coat. These bears, also called Andean bears, live in the mountains of South America and are the continent’s only bear species.

Unfortunate Dolores has lost all her body hair and has just been left with a few tufts around her head, leaving her looking like this:

And Dolores isn’t the only one: The sudden hair loss has affected all female bears at the zoo. Some experts believe it could be due to a genetic defect though the animals do not seem to be suffering from any other affliction. Zoo experts are working to cure the bears’ non-life-threatening condition. Until a cure is found, keepers have been applying medical ointment to the bears’ skin, which becomes itchy without its protective fur.

Photos of Hairless Bears

Here are a few more photos of Dolores the hairless Spectacled Bear from Germany’s Leipzig Zoo:

Normally, stumbling across a massive bear in the wild can leave any person shaken. Now, imagine unexpectedly meeting one of these hairless creatures… that would certainly be something else entirely.

We hope you get well soon, Dolores!